SAINT ELIAS GREEK OR THODOX COMMUNITY OF READING TRUSTEES'ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31 OCTOBER 2024
Saint Elig$ Greek Orthodox Community ofReadiDg TTUStees' annual r¢port and accoun15 fvr iheyeor end¥d3J (kiober 21)24 Annual Report The Tnstee% present their Eeport for the Yearelld 31 (ktoEr 2024. Reference dministr*tive detsas Th¢ Trustees who scrv¢d during year w¢re as follows.. Honorary President His EmineD¢e the Archbis1 Nike Chair of Truslees Theixlora Dimakopoulou Trustee ikolaos Manousos Iresign¢d IIIy24) Trustee Elia5 Parikos [rtsied lilJ24} Trustee John lryine Trustee Nkkolws man.nis (resigned IIIY24) Margatith Reed and Michalis KoUfo[UloS ere aptK)ittted tsvstees on l Dember 2024. Th¢ Charity is govemed by a deed dated 20 April 1988 (as atllended 29 July 1988) togeth¢r with a deed of variation dated 27 April 1994. It is [egisteI with the Chan"ty Commission as number 21P)645. The Ecelesiastical Committec is re5p>nsible for the day-t(Nlay operations of the church and consRsts of the Trnstees knst¢d aboyc as w¢ll as th¢ following.. cers.. Presidellt Vice Pr¢5id¢nt Seereia Treasur¢r G¢n¢rBI lneberS.' Th¢ora Dimak Paul Elderficld Georgios Kmrabatakis fvfar 2tits Reed Stella Kerdmida irena zat-)1'a Aikatetilli Skoulatou John Ir¥ine Michal Korcz Folini Ver ortis Olis Stemitsiotis oulou IndeKtnd¢nt examiner JoFLn JenkkD5 FCA Bankers Barclays Bank plc Melto Bank plc
Saint Elias Greek Orthodox Community of Reading Trnstees. annual r¢tN)rt and accounts fvr iheyettr epided31 (kft)ber 2024 Objects and activities The objec15 of the Charity are to promote the Greek Orthodox faith and Gr¢¢k Orth(Klox charitable institytions in Reading aDd envimus. The Charity achieTres this through regular {normally wc¢kiy) acts of wotship, supiK>rting aT]d ¢xpanding a Greek Orth10X school. and casional s(][ functions, thus bringing benefit the Greek. Cypriot and the wider Orthodox community. Review of achieve)Dents perfomance Presidenl's Report We have just completed our firycarWlththe new Committee and we %hould all congratulate ach other. after some N'ery c1Jallenwn fcw months. We started 2024 w'ith a ll¢. y¢ar's service. the cutting of thevasi1opl and a very importsnt ¢ven( such as the Blessing of the Waters, H'hich took pla¢¢ outsid¢ our ¢hur¢h for the fst titne ever. thanks to Fr. Andr&%' initiativc and everyone's SllPPOEt. Due to the publicity of this event on the l(xal media we were approached for a potential buslding in Calcott. We asked His Emillence's help and guidance, and we ere pleasantly surprisedwhen He immedia]Yshowed His illterest and I'isiied the property with us in a very short time. Ile gave us H]"s blessing for th¢ ptoperty. donated to church SIO.O(K> and promised us a l(k)n of £50.IKKJ once a sale is agreed. We are v¢ry grat¢fi]l and very lucky to have all po&sÈble Sllprt from His EmineJKe and il is so¢thIng we treasure and aim to maintain. A fund-raising pag¢ 'aS s¢t-up and the commutiity together like DeN'er befor¢ to raise as much as we tould. Unfortunatelyt the amount of DneY we had to offer not sati.Efactory for the sellers and we coiild llot go ahead with that building. but we already had made some progress in knth erience and Fu[S. March was follO,ed with yet again anoÈher success] AkrI¢s1 carni1 pgrty for the conjmullity and our Greek sch1.$ C"ldren. A big well done and thank you to the volunleers who organised this fundraising ¢veTrt! The Holy Week and Easicr went very well with an even higher attendance from the parishione. Thank you to all voluntcers h0 made Easter candles for sale. prepared red egg8. madc Easter biscuits, heLd with cOeting the fltxTrr of the chllrch floor with plastic sheet& stayed late to decordt¢ our aUtiful Epitap.05 and also helped cleaning the church aftertheResurre¢tion setvice in theearly houorthe E&sterSunday morning. We should a]s'o thank Fr. Andr¢as, after bc Iravcllcd EO thc UK just for our church and ID oidcr to raisc evcll more for us. he did Dot accept anv paymellt ai all for all the services h¢ did thiring the Easter period, for which we can only k grdteful. On top of this, Fr. Ajidreas decided to travel once again for i)ur church in July and to do a Fulldraising Walk. He walkd approx. 10_5 mile5 in the r&in and he raised for our church anothcr £1.985, for which we only express our gtxiiwdc once again and maybe take an example t(M) from it. We also cel¢brat¢d our Pat) Saint Elia5' Feast Day in July and w¢ w¢re honoured to have Wtth u5 once agatn, His Eminence Archbishop Nlikiias. the Mayor of Reading, Clr Glenn D¢nnis. knbdearon Liz Jack50n from the DitKese of Oxfor¢ Mr. Gatdiner ¢U]¢J Mr. Hartiso from the Gerdld Palmer Eling Tn]st and our Angli¢an brethten frotn SL MaA(-s church. All were very imprwed with how many pIC attended the event on¢¢ again. cicn tbough it takes place iti the middl¢ of the Summer 'he a lot of people were already utt holidays. as w¢ll as with the in¢rease of the nreek Orthixlox parishÈoner8. His Emin¢n¢¢ sc¢mcd very satisfied with the constant and stabl¢ progress of Prophet E15a5' church and advised us to continuepursuing obtaining c)uiowD church buildin& a5 long as it is not a listed builditig due to the high MainteCe cosls of.such prOrIT¢s. holloured guests were I'ery happy with our hospit21ity and a big well dolle and thank you once again to all volunleers M,ho helped
Saint EIIAS Greek Orthodox Communit). of Re2ding Trusiccs, annual report and accoullts lorihe)'ear ended3J Ociober2024 with our F¢asl'5 prepatations cookin& servin& settiDg and cleaning th¢ church hall aftetwards. In Septemkr. when we opened our Church awdin after August's clo&uFe. we wtte faced with another building opportunity alld challcnoc, as this was a building sold on auction. After som¢ ¢xtensive talks. bttw'een th¢ Cornmittee and ihe Trnstees, it decided solely by thc m8jorityofthe Tnjstees tbat we shoutd sadly not pursue tkn"s building- Not all is lost howcvcr. as this led to gaining more experieD¢e in an area we didn't know anything about before (i.e. Auction sales) and made the Comtnittee eN'cn more d¢terTnined for our next attempt to buy building of our own. A big thank you to th¢ rhvr¢b-hunting leam who are not giving up and n)Jking very big effons in order to find a suitable alld pern)an¢nt building(space for us to house our church. It is aLw v¢ry nice (0 see that our Greek scliool 15 doing i'¢ry w¢ll, having add¢d for th¢ fjrst year Ancient Grc¢k Icssons and that the rents are getting more and more involved in ihe 5ehool and church actii"ili¢s as they are so closely inter-connectrd. Th¢ Child1) areattending on most Sundays the SeTr'ice. they are getting wmmunion if thcy wish 2nd seem more fatlliti.at within the church thaD ever b¢fo. This is owed to our very cdffdble and hard- working Headteacher Mr5. Keramida and all of the teachejy and I would like tr> thank them foi k¢eping up the go woFk they havc been doing so fat. The last fundraKsing event of the year, will the Christmas bazaar on 8th Dceejjxber. which has beeome a trddttion noTh, as it is its4th year rnt]nin& Once again this is getting organised by the Grcck school and Mrs. Th¢o¢lwi. witb all profits going to our Churc for which we are all very thankful. AdditÉODally. our church alld sch>1 7[1 participatc in the Christtnas Trc¢ cotntKlition thi5 year t. organised by our brethr¢n ill St. Mark's church. Thank you lo our volunieers who orgalliscd our participation and Ihc decoration of our trec this year We also ¢outiTJue participating in Church&% Together with our repres¢ntativ¢ bting Mr. Jol]n Irvine. Plea*talk to John if you would tike to participat¢ or find out mor¢. At ihi5 11. I would like to express my gTaiitude io all of our existiDg voluntttrs, all of our panshioners. the Prosforn and cotTee group, the Greek s¢ELooI teaehers. parent& pupiig". ollr v¢ry gcnerous donot5, our bosts at St. Mark's Church, our priests and the ArChdj(e5C of course, as everyone regardless of having a small or a big role, help inmaintainillg the ¢hur¢h, sch1 and community of Prophet Ebas buildtjjg a stronger Detlvotk of people witb siinilar nterests and beliefs attd a bettcr fvre for our communÉiy 0erall. Fin&nual reely The principal sources of in¢ome for thechatiiy ared¢)nations alld sub5Ctiptions from the chw'cb commull5ty. coUe¢tions at church services and for thc Greek Sch1. Incomc is also derived froTn social funciions and interest on bank de[lts. Expenditure is IgelY in th¢ provis4011 of regular ¢hur¢b s¢rvicts aDd the GEeek sch(xpl. The f]nancial perfomiance showed a signifi¢ant improi'ement from the previous year as a TC5uIt of fundraisin(k for the ll¢w ¢hurch. There a5 a 5VFplus for the year of £50.869 tornpared with a surplus of £8,506 in 2023. Gross income increased by 1170/0 over the previous year and costs by18/0. The Charity had net #ts and unStricted resetves of £174,132 on 31 (ktob¢r 2024. The Tnjstees eonsidcr that a of £38,(M)O. beillg suifi¢ient for onc year's expenditure. should be kept on gelleral fund; but the Trustees wish to ¢ontiDUe buildiD8 UP th¢se reserv to safeguard the future of the Charity and CY¢Dmally be in a positLOll to ¢onsider the purchas¢ of a church. To that cnd a generous donor ILas ddYaDCtd £51,654 in r¢spect of this g1. In th¢
Saint Elias Greek Orthodox Communtt). of Reading TtWSlctS' £tnnual [qrt aDd accoullts fvrthÉyeurended31 (Triober2024 event of a purchase of a suitable protKrty within fiv¢ y¢ars. this ,11[ be granted as a gÈft. Until that lit. it 15 regarded as an iDteTest free lo repayable in February 2026. Structsre? governaNce #lld geTcL The Trustecg {see Page I l are rcsponsiblc for mallaging the Chariry and tneet at lea%t ortee a y¢ar but mor¢ oftffl) if Kquir¢d N¢w trust¢ ar¢ r¢cruit¢d fro¥n within th¢ Community". Th¢ Tru5tCC5 havc (klcgatcd day-tsTrday SpOnSIbl11ty foi ¢hur¢h aotivitjcs to Èh Ecclesiastical Committee Isee Page l atso). The major risks to whtch the Chan"ry is exposed. as identified by the TThslees. have been r¢viewed and sysfrms hav¢ k¢n ¢stsblish¢d io n)itigate th¢se risks. The TntteS are satisfied that the Chatiiy s objectives and activilÈts mrtt public benefit criteria by providillg well-patronised OprtunItieS for Orththx communities An the Readillg akra to meet for or8anis¢d worship and fellowship. For and on kbalf of th¢ Trust¢¢s Theodora D&makop)ulo Chair. Dated:
Saint Elias Greek Orthodox Community of Re4ding Tn15tee5' annual rett and a¢¢ounts fopihc) J?ear endcd3J Ociober2024 Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of Saint Elias Greek Orthodox Community ofReading I report on the accounts of ihe Charity for the year ended 31 October ?024. which are set out on pages 6 to 9. Respective Respousibilities ofthe Trnstees Independent Ex4miDer As describ¢d on pagc 4, the are r¢sp)nsibl¢ th¢ pr¢paration of the a¢counts, and you consider that the audit reqtsiremeni of sectio[] 144{?) of the Charities Act ?0 I l {the Act) does not apply. li is my reswnsibility to state, oil the basis of pr(Kedures specified in the General Direcuons given by the Charity commissione under section 14515Mbl of the Act, wh¢ther partLcul4W matter5 have to my attention. Basis Of Independellt Examiller's Report My examination wa5 carried out inaccordauce with the Gellerdl Dtrections givell by the Charity Con]Mi10ers. AD exatnination Èllcludes a rei'iew of the accounting records kept by the Charity and a ¢ompaTiSOll of th¢ accounts presented with thos¢ r¢coNis. Et also includcs consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and ihe seeking of explanations from of any such mattcrs. The proecdures undcLtsk¢n do not PrO.1de all thc evidence that would required in an audit an(L consequently, I do nor express an audit opinton on the vtew givell by tb¢ aoUnts. Independent Examiner's St¥4tement In connection with my examinatio M matter has come to my attention: l. Whicb giv¢s Jn¢ r¢asonabl¢ caus¢ to iKli¢ve tbac iu atty tllat¢rial r¢SL th¢ tcquir¢m¢nts.' to k<p #etowiting records in a¢¢ord2n¢e with se¢tion 130 of the ACL" and lo pr¢par¢ account5 which accord with th¢ &countillg records and io comply witb thc accoiillttng requirements of the Act aye not b¢¢ll n]et; or 2. To which, in my opinion. att¢ntionshould be drawn itE or(kr t() ¢nabl¢ a proF¢rund¢rstanding of the accounts to be reaclied. John Jellkins FCA 2èS
Sglllt Elias Greek orth(0X Community of Reading TTU5tees aDnual rcpjrt and accoun fi>r fheyear tnded3J Ocknber 2U24 Statement of Finaneial Activities for the yearended 31 October 2024 2024 Intome Incom¢ and endowmenis from.. Sub5cripiiorts. ehurch coll¢aions. donatioLs Social ful11 and fundrwsing Bank inTerest 84.859 35,653 4.872 574 Total 89J32 41.099 Eipellditure Charitabl¢ a¢tiviti&q Church Educalion service5 Social functioDs DotkaÈions and subscTipIioTLS lo Archdi(Kc5e Renevolent pa}'meThts a[ charitable dollatii>ns 24,571 8.0*1 894 1.168 3.650 23.833 72(M) 1,500 60 Total 38 32.593 illcomellloss) 50069 8.506 Fut$ bn)ughi fonyard 12336J 114.757 Fund5 carried forward 174.132 123,263 Tbt attached notes forni part of these accoullts.
Saint Elias Greek Orthodox Community. of Reading Trnstee5' annual rep)n and accoLULts forihe J?etsr gnd¥d3J Ocivber2U24 Balance Sheet at 31 October 2024 2024 2023 Fixed *55et5 Ecclesiastic IieEIJS 8J49 8,349 Currettt a55ets Sto¢ks of {EdIC5 at¥J IM)oks tkbiot5". Rent patd in advatsce hotsl fund Cash ai bank hd 321 321 1,743 3,152 212.421 217,637 1,743 1,032 165,56J 169.259 Creditors: amouTrts fgllittg i¥ithi# >"egr {200} (2,6911 Net turrttst a$5ets 217.437 166.568 Totsl •ssets less rnrrent bIllI1¢S 225.786 174.917 Creditor5= amounts t¥lling dt after vear Conditional d¢E]alion (51ffj54) 151,6541 Ntt assets 174,132 1 ?3,263 Funds- Unrestricted funds 174,132 123.263 The Charititt Act 2011 and the Charity's Constitirtion require tbe Trnstees to prepatt accounts for each fitxancial ycar .l¢h give a true and fair view of the SLqte of affaÈrs of th¢ Charity and the income and eXdilure for that period. The Trusrees are responsible formaiuiaiDing proper accounting reco1$ which disclose with reasonable accuracy the fUn¢181 po%stioll of the Charity to enable it to ensure that the finaEJcJal stat¢m¢nts comply with The Clxatitles Act 2011. The TrSt¢£s have tsken advantage of the proYisioDs of The Charitits A¢i 2011, whtch allow exemption from audit on clwiÉies uuder a certain income Icvtl. These accounts were apptoved by the TtU5te¢s on and signed on their behalf by.. The(M40rn DInkoluE0U Matgatita Reed Chair Trerep The attached notes forni part of these accounts.
Saint Elias Greek Orthodox Communih, of Reading Trustees, atlliual report and aecouttLS for ihLyear endalS1 Ociobtr2024 Notes to th• aceounts l Aecoutttillg policke5 Thc accounts have bcen Preped in accordance with tlK Charitics SORP (FRSSEI cntitlcd 'Aecollnting and Reportitig by Charaties- s&ment of Re£ottunended Practice applicable to tharitie5 preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting S¥andard for STn8ller Entities (the FRSSE), effective January 2015.. The following policiv hav¢ IK¢n appii¢d consiCallY iti the prepat*ion of thebe accounls. Income and expenditurc is tecognisd ott the ealS basis. Donations, colleciions and sitnilar iome is re¢ogni5rd when cash is received. beillg when ellliÈlemenl ati5¢5 Fixed assets, being Eccles1lC8l gre iDcluded at TrSte¢S valuation but no depreciation is charged. 2 Cbureh ctillections subscriptions donation5 2024 2023 C.olle¢tioDs SubscriNioll5 and do10S School donaiiolls (see 5) Special seryi¢es and Sundry Gift Aid 12286 53.932 10,342 14,936 7.560 2,825 1.649 7J92 84J59 35.653 3 IDcome and expenditure frnm £121 2024 2023 Income from s(xial funcliorts Related Costs 3.10 1894) 4.872 Surplus attribuiable io sttial futtciions 2,106 4,872
Saint Elia5 Greek Ortbodox Community of Rexding TnL8iees' arLnual report and accounts for ih¢ !¢ur vnded31 Uciober21J24 Notes to the accounts (contlnued) 4 Church 5ervice5 expense 2024 2023 Priests, expenses R¢nt Church 5uppb"¢s and candl&s Insuran¢¢ Storage IlJ90 &905 3.$38 634 2h52 452 24.571 1.385 5,5 3,926 2.192 830 23,833 No Trustee received any reMneration. The Treasurer w'as reimbursed £2.900 for ¢XP¢ELses etessarily iurred when the baDk acco11 was restri¢1 otl a Iandate change. S Education services expense 2024 2023 Tea¢bers' exISeS Supplies, stationery and premise5 6.630 .450 &080 5.435 1,765 72IMI 6 CredÉtfjrs due after one year This represents a conditional gifi ]nade to the Church to assist with the purchase of a proty. If it is not Tr]sed for this pur[. it is repayable on l Febn]8ry 2026. 11 is ÉDterest